December 22, 2015

#BITCHPLEASE
I met Amanda Verhagen on the balcony of the palais des festival during the
Producer's Workshop at Cannes.
She was everything I love: ambitious, dark humoured, and Canadian. She rocked
the Cannes Film Festival like she owned it and her credentials, impressive.

In any networking
situation, your heart is scanning the room and reading the vibes, much more
than you're conscious of. When you walk away from a conversation with business
card in hand, you'll only remember how that person made you feel and you can't
make people feel good without being good. This is the quality of a good
producer, leaving someone with the impression that you're the real deal,
willing to help, willing to battle in the trenches side by side. That can't be
manufactured. That's what Amanda Verhagen made me feel.

Amanda's advice on
being an independent producer is killer. She is a refreshingly clear voice in
an industry full of change and uncertainty. This is an absolute MUST READ for
anyone serious about working in film and television and I'm so grateful to be
hosting her here! ENJOY xoxo.

Independent
Producing

Guest post by Amanda
Verhagen

Amanda Verhagen walking the red carpet in South Korea for THE DEVOUT première.

I write this on the
eve of my 26th birthday while looking back on the incredible year I've had. This past year alone,
I was lucky enough to work alongside the infectiously positive Daniel Hogg
while producing the feature film 'The Devout'. I've had the privilege of
traveling the world while backpacking Europe and Japan. I've been to galas, red
carpets and awards shows. I've attended major film festivals such as the Cannes
Film Festival in France, Busan Film Festival in South Korea and of course the Vancouver
Film Festival in my hometown. This, all while working for the increasingly
popular Warner Brother's television series The Flash as a day job. There
are more than enough things in my life to be grateful for.

My journey has not
been an easy one. Becoming a producer is particularly challenging when you’re
young and a woman. The only real benefit is that people seem to underestimate
me, and that gives my accomplishments more weight.

I had been working in
the film industry for a few years, after graduating with a degree in Theatre
Production from the University
of Victoria and worked my
way up the ranks quite quickly from film production assistant to production
coordinator. During season 1, I was in the office kitchen when I received a call
from my now producing partner, Daniel Hogg, "You still want to run a
studio by 30?" he said. This phone call changed my life. Through producing
my first feature film with him, I have learned more in the last year than my
entire education combined. And what was once a career became a complete and overwhelming
passion.

I believe that passion
is infectious. People crave it, they want to be inspired by it and hold it for
their own. Because of this, I've had many people come out of the woodwork to
ask my advice. They usually offer to buy me a coffee and come with a list of
the same few questions. I love this practice. I think it's so important to help
each other. There are many people in my life I've called from time to time to
ask questions. There is no formal education that can prepare you for producing like
this.

"The only real benefit is that people seem to underestimate me, and that gives my accomplishments more weight."

The standard questions
people ask are: How do I break into the industry, what does a union do, what
should my resume look like and who's the most famous person you've met? I give
them the usual speech, become a production assistant, observe the different
jobs, and decide what you want to do, be nice to everyone and eventually you'll
be in your department of choice. It's a little different for producing, as
there is no set path. That job requires you to find a script, source the
financing and make your movie.

The advice I have to
budding producers is to research the hell out of your craft. Read everything
you can, and learn everything you can. Whether it's about accounting,
marketing, funding sources, producers labs, festivals, the trades, it's
all-important. Producing is a self-motivated job, and it's up to you to drive
your career forward. The amount of work you put in is what
comes out it. But as with everything, success comes at a price.

I've spent many nights
in my apartment working away, while my incredibly understanding friends go out.
My 20s haven't exactly been the most typical of the lot. While my friends from
back home are getting married, finding new 'friends' on Tinder or
finishing school, I'm in my apartment pouring over reports on audience trends
from Eastern Europe, negotiating with foreign distributors and going through
media training with my publicist. All in the hopes that some day, all of my
hard work will pay off and I'll become the next Kathleen Kennedy, Joss Whedon
or even better, something I create myself.

During these coffee
classes I like to remind filmmakers about the lifestyle they are about to
embark on. It's important to know you'll be working long days, nights and weekends.
The divorce rate is incredibly high and the failure rate even higher. After I
start diving into the depths of all this, people can become discouraged and ask
me why I still do this and what keeps me going.

They say for every
yes, there are at least 100 no's, which wrong, It's more like 1000. The one
thing that has always gotten me through all the disappointment and heartache
that goes along with this industry is one phrase that I repeat to myself ad
nauseam: "It may not be ideal, but it's always for the best".

Whether it’s a
contract that fell through, an actor I couldn't get or a festival rejection, I
always tell myself that phrase and know that something better will come along.
And guess what. It always does. If I continue through my life always being
disappointment by the roadblocks in my way, I'll never have the drive to
continue. And trust me, those yes moments are what make it all worthwhile.

I often think back to
that day in The Flash kitchen when Daniel called, and changed
everything. Everyday is the day that could change your life, you just have to
be able to recognize it, put in the work and have faith that everything is for
the best.

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS for Film:

Women in Film Producer's Workbook 4 by
Women in Film and Television Vancouver

Film and Video Budgets 6 by Maureen A Ryan

Film Production Management 101 by Deborah Patz

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS for Life:

You've Never Weird on The Internet -
Felicia Day

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

Yes Please - Amy Poehler

AMANDA JUST DROPPED
THE MIC

Amanda Verhagen is
known for her organization talents and coordinating prowess. After graduating
from The University of Victoria's Phoenix Theatre Production & Management
Bachelors program, she moved to Vancouver
to jump feet first into her life long passion of film production. At a
young age, Amanda began excelling in her field and has had the privilege to
work as a Production Coordinator for television series such as CBC's Artic Air and
Warner Brother's The Flash and feature films such as Hector & The Search
for Happiness and Poker Night.

With a bright smile and full force
determination Amanda is thrilled to make the move into the producing world with
her recent feature The Devout and upcoming features soon to be announced.

December 3, 2015

#BITCHPLEASE Tessa Stamp and I go waaaay back to VIC Kids in the film & theatre scene. At the time, what I admired most was her killer dance skills; she could do the splits and kick herself in the head. As adults, she's been my pusher, my supplier of costumes, make-up, teeth and props, and also a pusher in terms of propelling me along my creative path through her bold and fearless example. We have each experienced many incarnations in this life and have fortified our resilient spirits. It's a pleasure to reconnect on the path with so many stories to share. I admire this woman fiercely. It's hard not to. Tessa has tremendous wisdom to share, so please spread the post and give her some love!

Put on Your Big Boy Pants

Guest Post by Tessa Stamp

I have always been a bit gender queer. Not that I feel like I am a rebel or a pioneer, but I have never really played by gender rules. I have a mother who for all intents and purposes looks like a proper 50s housewife… perfect hair, spotless house, she hosts properly decorated parties, and is always dressed and accessorized magnificently. But for 4’11” she has the proportional strength of an ant, drives a huge truck, is the most aggressively competitive person I know, and has working man hands like I do. Despite all the importance she places on appearances, she never told me that I couldn’t do things because I was a girl. She supported me as a dancer and as an athlete, she smiled when I wore a skirt with a camo jacket and military boots to my first day of grade 10, and she appreciates that she can ask her daughter to cut her plywood for her art projects. My father is a guys guy. He’s a firefighter, an athlete, and a high rigger for IATSE. He is not concerned with appearances, in fact I am sure that he holds the record for largest dorky hat collection, but of course they are all highly functional. He never really gave me an option of being a girl or a boy, he never cared what I looked like he just demanded that I be a functional human being. I was not allowed to have girly excuses for not being able to do something and therefore I never questioned that I could.

It is my Dad’s fault that I became a permit member of IATSE (the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) in 1997, and it is probably his fault that I never questioned whether or not I should be doing that job. Which is a real stretch if you consider that in 1997 I was 15 years old and probably weighed 102lbs

soaking wet, yet there I was pushing road cases, loading trucks and moving a lot of heavy things around with a bunch of men. I am glad that I started out as an oblivious teenager who was given no option but to work this job in the summers, otherwise maybe I would have never considered this as a career path. Especially 20 years ago.

As a theatre technician I have always been out numbered by men. I learned quickly how to deflect sexual harassment, how to assert my skills without question and how to look the part. It’s probably the reason I have always driven a truck… I have had the support of many wonderful men in the industry who have either stood up for me, silently defended me, or better still… never questioned that I should be doing what I was doing. I have also come up through the ranks with some of the most talented and amazing women I have ever met, but it is still very much a male dominated industry. I think the part that I found the hardest is that were no clearly defined role models for the kind of things that I was doing… unless you count Alex from Flashdance. But even then, the only way a woman could be a welder and a dancer was to also be an exotic dancer… which is more than a little misogynistic and confusing. Not taking anything away from Flashdance, it remains one of my favourites, but come on… Alex is still the only other dancing welder I know of.

With no one who defines themselves with the same rules (or lack thereof) as you do it’s pretty easy to get confused and lost. I have never questioned my sexuality… I like boys, but there were a few years when I thought very seriously about the feeling that maybe I was supposed to be one. I mean, how could I not think that maybe I was supposed to be a boy when so many of the things that I loved to do were “for boys”. I don’t feel gender queer because I feel like I’m in the wrong body, I have felt gender queer my whole life based strictly on the fact that I don’t follow what is acceptable for a woman to do, like, and want. I firmly believe that it is the pursuit of a creative existence and the community of people who work in theatre that have allowed me to exist outside these norms and expectations. I mean have you taken a look at the people who work behind the scenes? We are a motley crew. A whole jumble of people who live outside what is expected of them, people who come together to tell stories. Stories that give the world hope, show people a different perspective and challenge the expected. Could there be a more important job?!

Over the last 8 years I have done a lot of my design work for The Maggie Tree, a theatre company with a mandate to support the development and visibility of women in creative leadership roles in the arts. While writing this blog I texted my friend Kristi, one the two fabulous women who co-artistic direct the company, and I asked her if she could help me answer the question of how many female Artistic Directors there are in the city. And I’ll admit the list was a lot longer than I expected it to be. And I told her that. Then she replied with “but notice how we are all on the outskirts”. Women are taking leadership roles, creating companies and running festivals. It is still not normal to see women running large, funded theatre companies, but if things keep going the way they are, if our numbers keep growing outside the palace walls… it will be.

This is my 33rd year on the planet. Some people call this your, “Jesus Year”, your year of manifestation. The Urban Dictionary defines this as the year “where you are reborn in some sense. Perhaps a mid-life crisis, perhaps an ego death, perhaps the year where you abandon old ways and start new.” For historians it is the year when Jesus started a spiritual, political and intellectual revolution steeped in struggle and controversy that ended with his eventual death and resurrection. For me… it’s the year when I am finally comfortable with the complexities of who I am. It has been a battle between what I feel obligated to do and what I am driven to do. Deciding to react how I think others would want me to versus what my impulse and instinct is directing me to. It has been the year of my highest anxiety, my deepest honesty and between those, I have found the utmost clarity of self.

If I could tell my younger self one thing, it would be this: “If you feel like you are doing something that no one else is, if it’s a little scary and takes courage to show up, and if everything in your heart is telling you to do it anyway… then you’re an artist. And your expression is important.”

Make art dammit, do something different. It’s the only way any of us get any better.

Tessa is a Maniac... on the floor

Tessa Stamp is an Edmonton born theatre professional and entrepreneur. A dancer first, Tessa has made her career in technical theatre. After graduating from Victoria School she completed the Theatre Production program at Grant MacEwan University. Tessa spent 5 years working for Carnival Cruise Lines, she toured in 2007 with Cirque Du Soleil’s Corteo as an assistant stage manager, and spent a season in the lighting department at The Citadel theatre, before opening Theatre Garage in 2009. Doing mostly set, lighting and costume design for The Maggie Tree for the past few years, she has been able to enjoy making award winning theatre with such good friends. She is thrilled to be able to design Confessions of a Sew Worker as part of the first ever Chinook Festival. Follow her on Twitter @Tessa_stamp